Our last days in Georgia are upon us. We’ve spent four weeks in this gorgeous country and had a blast and none better than the last three days that we’ve spent with friends from the UAE. Seeing the faces on Emily and Alayna when they met up was, to paraphrase Big Chris out of Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, emotional. It also was a reminder that in this day and age, distance is of no matter and that the world really is too small a place. I mean, if an Irish family and a New Zealand family who met in the United Arab Emirates can arrange to catch up in Georgia, then anything really is possible.
Three Georgian princesses playing dolies
Having spent some of our time previously in Tbilisi checking out options for our new friends arrival, it was now time to put them to the test. But first up we needed to grab some lunch which ended up sending us to a part of Tbilisi we hadn’t been to before thanks to a suggestion from Rachael to see the wobbly Clock Tower, situated beside the Rezo Gabriadze Marionette Theatre.
Possibly my favourite clock tower to date
Putting our friendship seriously to the test we trudged all the way out to the funicular, to revisit Mtatsminda Park and its fun fair rides. Although a lot of the rides stated you needed to be 1.4 metres, it ended up being guidance rather than a fast rule. Hence, the girls were able to go on some rides that they might not, possibly should not have been allowed to.
Driving a dodgem for kids is actually a lot harder than it looks
The whirly swirly ride
Belle’s audience on the gyroscope
Upside down kid
The girls still wanting to hold hands
Elevated Emmy
Bouncy Belle
Continuing on, we progressed to Abanotubani and the Leghvtakhevi Waterfall. As good as it was when I saw it running on my own, it was a whole heap better sharing it with other people.
Best friends on the bridge
Playing the role of dutiful tourists we were also finally seduced into taking one of the boat rides up the Mtkvari River. At 20 GEL (just over NZ$10) for adults (kids free) for 30 minutes, it was reasonable value and provided a different view of some of the best sites along the river.
Approaching Meteki Church of the Assumption
The cable car floating above the Mtkvari River
An unexpectedly good find was the bowling alley in the Galleria. 35 GEL got us a lane for four for an hour which everyone loved.
Belle bowling a googly out the back of the hand
Go the ball
It’s amazing how quickly time flies when you’re having fun. In the blink of an eye our time with our friends was up. While we still had a day up our sleeves in Georgia on our own, it was time to go through all the sad goodbyes that we’d endured only three months ago once more. In times of need we always turn to Winnie the Pooh who best sums up our feelings, when he said “How lucky I am to have something that makes saying goodbye so hard.” We know though, that this isn’t a final goodbye but just goodbye for now.